- April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides
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April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides 
Duration: 5 April – mid-April 2010 Fatalities: at least 249 deaths[1][2] Damages: R$23.76 billion (est.) Areas affected: State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil The April 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides was an extreme weather event that has affected the State of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the first days of April 2010. At least 212 people have died,[2][3][4] 161 people have been injured (including several rescuers),[5] while at least 15,000 people have been made homeless.[6] A further 10,000 homes are thought to be at risk from mudslides, most of them in the favelas, the shanty towns built on the hillsides above downtowns.[7][8] Damage from the flooding has been estimated at 23.76 billion reais (US$13.3bn, €9.9bn), about 8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Rio de Janeiro State.[9]
The flooding has particularly affected the city of Rio de Janeiro, where at least 60 people have died, and its surrounding area. Deaths have also been reported in the cities of Niterói (132), São Gonçalo (16), Paracambi (1), Paulo de Frontin (1), Magé (1), Nilópolis (1) and Petrópolis (1).[5][10] Several municipalities, including Niterói and municipalities to the east such as Maricá and Araruama, have declared states of emergency or of public calamity.[11] The Governor of Rio de Janeiro State, Sérgio Cabral, declared three days of official mourning for the dead.[11]
A resident of São Gonçalo stands in front of his destroyed house.
Heavy rain started at around 5 p.m. local time (2000 UTC) on Monday 5 April in Rio de Janeiro city, and continued for 24 hours, with a total of 28.8 cm (11½ in.) of rain falling,[10] more than was predicted for the whole of April[7] and the heaviest rainfall for thirty years.[8] Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes admitted that the city's preparedness for heavy rainfall had been "less than zero,"[10] but added "there isn’t a city that wouldn’t have had problems with this level of rainfall."[12]
A further landslide hit a slum in Niteroi late on April 7. It is thought to have killed at least 150, although the toll is expected to rise.[13] Around 200 people were missing in the town as of April 13.[2]
After nearly 300 landslides hit the area, the statue of Christ the Redeemer was cut off from traffic for the first time in history.[2]
More than 300 homes were bulldozed after the landslides, and it is estimated that close to 12,000 families will need to be relocated by 2012 due to the damage from the floods.[2]
See also
- January 2010 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides
- January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides
- 2010 Northeastern Brazil floods
References
- ^ AP Photo, Story (April 15, 2010). "News In Pictures on Thursday". The Straits Times. http://www.straitstimes.com/NewsInPictures/Story/STIStory_514912.html. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ a b c d e de Oliveira, Claire (April 13, 2010). "Brazil flood toll rises to 246, Rio's Christ statue cut off". Agence France-Presse (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Google News). http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hq55PECrqr8qq838-B8Cff8Yn1RA. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
- ^ "Rio: chuva enfraquece, mas risco de deslizamentos ainda é alto", Terra, 7 April 2010, http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/noticias/0,,OI4367075-EI8139,00-Rio+chuva+enfraquece+mas+risco+de+deslizamentos+ainda+e+alto.html. (Portuguese)
- ^ "Bombeiros confirmam 184 mortes em decorrência das chuvas no Rio", Folha de S. Paulo, 9 April 2010, http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/cotidiano/ult95u718546.shtml. (Portuguese)
- ^ a b "Número de mortos chega a 180 no Rio, diz Corpo de Bombeiros", Terra, 8 April 2010, http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/noticias/0,,OI4369504-EI15502,00-Numero+de+mortos+chega+a+no+Rio+diz+Corpo+de+Bombeiros.html. (Portuguese)
- ^ "Chuva no Rio: número de mortos não para de subir no estado e Niterói decreta calamidade pública", O Globo, 8 April 2010, http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2010/04/08/chuva-no-rio-numero-de-mortos-nao-para-de-subir-no-estado-niteroi-decreta-calamidade-publica-916281725.asp. (Portuguese)
- ^ a b Arnold, Adam (6 April 2010), At Least 89 Die As Record Floods Hit Rio, Sky News, http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Rio-de-Janeiro-Floods-Over-30-Dead-In-Floods-Caused-By-More-Than-15-Hours-Of-Constant-Rain/Article/201004115596069?f=rss.
- ^ a b Scores killed in Brazil flooding, Al Jazeera, 6 April 2010, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/04/201046151148528719.html.
- ^ "Perdas causadas pela chuva no Rio podem chegar a R$ 23,7 bi", Terra, 8 April 2010, http://noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/noticias/0,,OI4371389-EI15502,00-Perdas+causadas+pela+chuva+no+Rio+podem+chegar+a+R+bi.html. (Portuguese)
- ^ a b c Flooding in Rio de Janeiro state kills 90, BBC News, 6 April 2010, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8605386.stm.
- ^ a b "Chuva forte alaga diversos pontos do Rio e provoca mortes", O Globo, 6 April 2010, http://oglobo.globo.com/rio/mat/2010/04/05/chuva-forte-alaga-diversos-pontos-do-rio-provoca-mortes-916250646.asp. (Portuguese)
- ^ Brasileiro, Adriana (6 April 2010), Rio Residents Told to Stay Home as Flooding Kills 95, Bloomberg, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-04-06/rio-residents-told-to-stay-home-as-flooding-kills-77-update1-.html.
- ^ "Fresh Brazil landslide 'leaves 200 feared buried'". BBC News. 8 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8608718.stm. Retrieved 8 April 2010.
Coordinates: 22°54′30″S 43°11′47″W / 22.90833°S 43.19639°W
Categories:- 2010 floods
- 2010 in Brazil
- Floods in Brazil
- Landslides in Brazil
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